Al Pacino‘s and Robert De Niro‘s giant age gaps with their partners may be socially frowned upon, but research suggests couples with decades between are more romantically satisfied.
A team of scientists from Australia’s Deakin University suggests these couples report greater trust and commitment and lower jealousy than similar-age couples.
‘Over three-quarters of couples where younger women are partnered with older men report satisfying romantic relationships,’ according to researchers.
This could hold weight in the idea that Pacino, 83, and Noor Alfallah, 29, announced Wednesday that she is eight months pregnant, while De Niro, 79, and Tiffany Chen, 45, welcomed a baby girl this month.
The age-gapped couples likely see the relationship as a good investment – women are attuned to looking for a partner with statutes and resources, and men seek out child bearers, according to scientists.
Researchers also noted that men tend to value attractiveness and vitality more than women because these features indicate fertility – another evolutionary standpoint.
Al Pacino, 83, and Noor Alfallah, 29, announced Wednesday that she is eight months pregnant
Pacino and Alfallah have been romantically linked since April 2022 and are now expecting their first child together.
The Scarface leading man is already father to three children with two women: he shares 22-year-old twins Olivia Pacino and Anton James Pacino with Beverly D’Angelo; and Julie Pacino, 33, with Jan Tarrant.
News of the pregnancy comes weeks after the actor’s longtime colleague De Niro, welcomed his first child with Chen, who he has been with since August 2021 – but the Godfather star had six children prior.
There is a stigma around age-gap couples like Pacino’s and De Niro’s relationships – they typically do not last.
The team at Deakin University has found evidence that breakups are not always the case, according to a press release.
These findings can be found among other famous couples with giant age gaps, such as George Clooney, 62, and Amal Clooney, 45, have been together for nearly a decade.
News of Pacino’s pregnancy comes weeks after the actor’s longtime colleague Robert De Niro, 79, welcomed his first child with Tiffany Chen, 45, who he has been with since August 2021 – but the Godfather star had six children prior
Catherine Zeta-Jones, 53 and Michael Douglas, 78, have been married since 2000 and Calista Flockhart, 58, and Harrison Ford, 80, have been married for nearly 23 years.
While these famous celebrities seem to have found love in the gap, Leonardo DiCaprio, 48, who has a reputation for dating women more than 20 years his junior, has not been so lucky.
And a resurfaced study from Emory University in Atlanta believes it is because he is dating younger women – contradicting theories presented by Deakin University.
Emory University found that couples with a five-year age gap are 18 percent more likely to separate than partners who are closer in age.
George Clooney, 62, and Amal Clooney, 45, have been together for nearly a decade (left). Calista Flockhart, 58, and Harrison Ford, 80, have been married for nearly 23 years (right)
Catherine Zeta-Jones, 53 and Michael Douglas, 78, have been married since 2000
While these famous celebrities seem to have found love in the gap, Leonardo DiCaprio, 48, who has a reputation for dating women more than 20 years his junior, has not been so lucky
In 2014, researchers at the institution analyzed 3,000 people as part of their study.
The experts concluded that the more significant the age gap between couples, the more likely they were to split.
For instance, partners were 39 percent more likely to separate if they were born 10 years apart.
The chances of a split then shot up to 95 percent of couples with a 20-year age gap.
As such, researchers found that the ‘ideal’ age gap between couples was one year or less.
The study concluded that the chances of divorce dropped to just three percent for couples born within 12 months or less of one another.
Di Caprio’s love life typically makes headlines, as the star usually does not date anyone over 25.
He was dating Camila Morrone in 2022, and as her 26th birthday approached, social media went wild with jokes about their imminent breakup.
One fan commented: ‘Happy Birthday sweetie!!! It’s time for us to break up.’
Another noted: ‘Her lease is almost up’.
‘If they make it one more year, it will be both his longest relationship, and she will be the first 26-year-old he has dated,’ one fan stated.
Di Capri and Morrone, however, split that August, suggesting Emory University’s research holds true.
